A year later he was promoted to head animator of Puppetoons. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, founded by Bob Baker and Alton Wood in 1963, is the oldest children's theater company in Los Angeles. A new film by Eric Minh Swenson. Baker passed away at the age of 90 in 2014. In 1930 Bob Baker, a six-year-old Los Angeles native, saw a puppet show and dedicated the rest of his life to puppetry. Take a Family Vacation to Historic California –, This Family Blog-Award winning blog mystery blogger award. BBMT and El Cine frequently collaborate with local, mobile movie screening clubs, including La Collectionneuse[6](franco-centric club). In 2019, The Bob Baker Marionette Theater gained 501(c)3 non-profit status, and relocated from the historic Downtown Los Angeles location, into a 1920's silent movie theater in Highland Park. Donate Adopt-a-Puppet Volunteer Membership SHOP Home About. Eye surgery is a delicate procedure. 24:54. He has also provided a place of learning for the next generation of puppeteers, including Scott Land and Michael Earl. Or another cultural landmark that isn’t bound to an exact address? The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been pulling the strings on family fun since 1963! The Bob Baker Marionette Theater will close its current location in less than two months, after dazzling kids and adults with hand-made puppets for the past 55 years. Baker was also instrumental in championing union membership for puppeteers. Come and watch behind-the-scenes videos of the buildout, enjoy a classic Bob Baker puppet show, and cheer as the famous Harlequin Clowns rise for the VERY FIRST TIME in our new location! Watch Queue Queue Have you seen Bob Baker’s Historic Marionette Theater? Saturday May 12, 1018. Oh yeah, there will be cool exclusive things in email too like freebies and deals. Puppeteer. Last fall, the company had to leave their beloved theater … Inspired by Bob Baker's original renderings, the new space has been transformed into "The Place Where Imagination Dwells". With the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering live performances, the theater’s staff has been inventive to keep the magic alive for its generations of fans. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, founded by Bob Baker and Alton Wood in 1963, is the oldest children’s theater company in Los Angeles. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater in its new location on York Boulevard, Highland Park Los Angeles native Bob Baker became infatuated with … The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, the longest continuously running puppet theater in the country, opened its new location in Los Angeles’s Highland Park last … The move was prompted when the founder of the theater and owner of the original site, Bob Baker, sold the building. The late founder and namesake of the company, Bob Baker, sold the building five years ago to a real estate developer. A parade of puppets strung along Los Angeles City Council members today long enough to persuade them to designate a West 1st Street marionette theater a historic cultural landmark. Here’s the short version of the history….Bob Baker, along with Alton Wood, founded the children’s theater company in Los Angeles in 1963. Each show runs about 30 minutes long and they usually only do one show at a time which changes seasonally. Thanks to Winona Bechtle, the company's Director of Development, for graciously allowing access to explore the theatre. Bob Baker Marionette Theater recently celebrated a soft re-opening at their Highland Park location with a grand re-opening is set for November. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, the oldest puppet arts theater in the country, is in immediate danger of closing permanently due to the coronavirus … Prices for each show are $15 and you need to make a reservation which may seem like a hassle but I promise you it will be worth it! Puppeteer Bob Baker died on November 28, 2014 in the age of 90 from natural causes.[4]. Paul. This video is unavailable. . Blues, Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Sometimes they will include speakers, musicians, and receptions with drinks and discourse after. The theater is believed to have been built as a workshop for Academy Award-winning special effects artist M.B. (Elisa Parhad) Advertisement. Advice from a Christmas Tree 🎄 As a result, Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA now recognize puppeteers as actors with a special skill. They were tired but excited. While attending Hollywood High School, he began manufacturing toy marionettes that sold both in Europe and the United States. Hotels near Bob Baker Marionette Theater: (0.27 mi) Jerry's Motel (0.52 mi) The L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown (0.82 mi) Omni Los Angeles at California Plaza (0.98 mi) Sheraton Grand Los Angeles (1.17 mi) Hotel Figueroa; View all hotels near Bob Baker Marionette Theater on Tripadvisor We were hoping you’d say that! After a day of celebrating the Grand Opening of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, join us for our first formal show in our York Boulevard location. The theater was built in 1953. According to the Los Angeles Downtown News (Goodbye Puppet Palace, Nov. 12, 2018), the developer of the theater’s original site stated that he intends to offer the Bob Baker Marionette Theater the opportunity to return to its original location in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a one-story commercial building of modern Vernacular architecture. This makes it the oldest children’s theater company in Los Angeles. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, founded by Bob Baker and Alton Wood in 1963, is the oldest children's theater company in Los Angeles. His puppetry was featured on TV in Bewitched, Star Trek, Land of the Giants and NCIS; and on film in the 1944 movie Bluebeard, in A Star Is Born, G.I. At age eight, Baker trained with several different Los Angeles-based companies before giving his first professional performance for director Mervyn LeRoy. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #958. Daze with Jordan the Lion Recommended for you. Version 2.0 of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater soft opened in June at York and 50th. Deborah Netburn's February 19, 2019 story for the L.A. Times, "L.A.'s historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater is moving to Highland Park" included photos from productions at the company's old location. #569 BOB BAKER MARIONETTE THEATER Celebrates BOB BAKER DAY in LA ! ], During the June 2009 Los Angeles City Council meeting at which the theater received its historic monument designation, Baker's marionettes made an appearance. [7] These events will often include a Marionette show and movie screening. After graduation he became an apprentice at the George Pal Animation Studios. The puppets danced and pranced around the City Council’s ornate horseshoe-shaped desk in the City Hall chambers before officials voted 14–0 to place the Bob Baker Marionette Theater on the city’s landmark list. Courtesy of Bob Baker's Marionette Theater. Join our newsletter and be the first to hear all the latest! Watch Queue Queue. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is reportedly the longest-running puppet theater in the United States. 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